This month we are very honoured to have the fantastic Ian McAndrew Owner and chef at the Blackaddie Hotel, Sanquhar as our DGWGO Featured Chef .Often called the Chefs Chef Ian has been a chef for over 45 years so you may well imagine that by now he has honed his art.
Ian was at the time the youngest chef to attain a Michelin Star and has written three best-selling cookery books, ‘A Feast of Fish’ which remained in the shops for 13 years until it was finally superseded by his third book ‘A Feast of Fish 2’, and Poultry & Game his second book considered by many famous chefs as the most authoritative work on game every written. He is now to be found in the kitchen of Blackaddie House Hotel working to bring South West Scotland his own distinctive style of food.
Immediately prior to taking on Blackaddie Ian ran his own successful Catering Consultancy business and has had clients from as far afield as Istanbul in Turkey to New York, Amsterdam and London and clients as diverse as Marks & Spencers, the NHS, a Dutch food service manufacturer Marfo Martinair, Anton Mosimann’s club the Belfry, Sheffield University, ONE Anglia Railways, GEEST, Master Chefs of Great Britain and many more.
These days he spends almost every waking hour in his kitchen at Blackaddie House Hotel in Sanquhar where everything they serve has been made on the premises and they are building an enviable reputation for some of the finest food in Scotland. Yes Sanquhar, not a name that trips easily off the tongue when considering where to go for a great meal but once there and eating you will very soon appreciate how good the food at Blackaddie really is.
Colour, texture, variety, all of these appear on every plate of food Ian produces but it is flavour that really stands out, for a plate of food is never great unless it tastes sensational and bringing out flavours and the complexity of flavours in every dish is what Ian excels at and while every plate is an exquisite picture in itself with a depth of flavour hitherto unimagined this cannot be achieved without great ingredients.
Provenance and the quality of ingredients has always been a passion for Ian, if he wasn’t a chef he would still seek out only the best of everything for whatever he was doing. Over the years Ian has worked tirelessly to build up strong supply chains always utilising local producers and suppliers to the maximum and here at Blackaddie is no exception to that. The fresher the better and the closer to home he can source the happier Ian is, so much so that he has always grown his own whenever the opportunity presents itself. Indeed here at Blackaddie there is now a productive kitchen garden and while it is only small and still very much in its infancy still supplies much to the kitchen through the main growing season. This is something Ian has always done wherever he has worked as there are no fresher ingredients that those you can produce yourself. It’s not only vegetables either, while in Ireland Ian bred quail both for their eggs and their meat and at one stage had in excess of 250 birds and supplied local restaurants with quails and quails eggs.
Ian has always held cookery classes but at Blackaddie he has gone one better, the Chef for a Day Experience is a must for anyone that loves to cook. Such a different experience to a normal cookery school this one on one day gives you to opportunity to work alongside Ian producing food for that days menus. Getting hands on with one of the country’s finest chefs, learning the tricks of the trade and getting the inside knowledge on how a professional kitchen works. You’ve seen it on master chef, now he offers the opportunity to come and actually do it! No experience is necessary as Ian is there every minute to guide you through everything and you will come away with unique recipes of the dishes you’ve worked on too.
Ian’s first job after leaving catering college was in the Station Hotel in Dumfries when it was then owned by British Transport Hotels so coming back to the region after so many years is almost like a homecoming for him. Dumfries & Galloway has so much to offer and so much untapped potential he has in the 7 years he’s had Blackaddie continually strived to put Dumfries & Galloway on the map however and whenever possible. He’s been a board member of Destination Dumfries & Galloway, is currently on the steering committee of the Association of Dumfries & Galloway Accommodation Providers (ADGAP) and was until recently Chairman and founding member of Dumfries & Galloway Chefs Association. Every year he takes part in the Kirkcudbright Food Festival, indeed trying to get involved in all aspects of tourism in the region to help to promote and advertise Dumfries & Galloway to all.
Ian along with his wife Jane have over 80 years combined experience in 5 star hotels and Michelin Starred restaurants in England and Germany such as with Anton Mosimann at The Dorchester, Carlton Tower and Intercontinental Hotels. In less than a year of his first head chefs job at Eastwell Manor in Kent Ian was awarded a Michelin Star and 3 years later he and his wife opened their first restaurant venture in Canterbury where they regained the coveted Michelin star in their first year of operation and went on to hold his Michelin Star for 8 years. Ian and Jane subsequently went on to win many more awards throughout the years and other ventures. In all they have owned two restaurants and been partners in two others. As well as his 3 books Ian was also featured in Kit Chapman’s book Great British Chefs. He was awarded the honour of ‘Chef Laureat of the British Academy of Gastronomes’ the same year as Raymond Blanc and he has had some of Scotland’s big named chefs through his hands such as the renowned Andrew Fairlie of Fairlies restaurant at Gleneagles and Paul Kitching who’s restaurant 21212 in Edinburgh is now well established as one of Scotland’s best.
Over the years Ian and Jane have won numerous awards but here at Blackaddie the focus is on the customer rather than seeking out recognition but that is not to say we would shy away from that either. Over the last 7 years Ian has been in the final 4 of the CIS Chef of the Year award twice, the final 3 of The Good Food Guide Scottish Restaurant of the Year twice. Won Scottish Senior Fellowship Award from Scottish Hotel awards and Gold Medal twice. For the hotel together they have been awarded Regional Restaurant of the Year 2014, the Good Food Guide every year with 4/10 and have 2 AA Rosettes for the quality of the food and 3 Gold Stars from Visit Scotland for service and quality.
Ian’s only ambition now is to put Blackaddie firmly on the Scottish Culinary map
Ian has very kindly Shared two simple recipes for you to try below
Potato Bread Rolls
800g Flour
½ tsp garlic powder (optional)
50g unsalted butter
15g sea salt
20g sugar
200g cooled mashed potatoes
200ml Milk
200ml Water
20g Yeast
Rub the butter into the flour garlic powder and salt
Warm the milk, water and sugar and crumble in the yeast and dissolve
Mix the potato into the flour, make a well, add the water yeast mixture
Mix in and knead really well until very elastic
Cover and leave to prove to double its size
Knock back cut into desired sized pieces and place on baking tray
Cover and prove to double its size again
Dust each roll with flour then bake at 220 for about 15 mins
Grapefruit Jelly
Makes about 40 pieces
800ml Grapefruit Juice
300g Caster Sugar
7g Agar Agar
3 leaves Gelatine
Soak the leaves of gelatine in cold water.
Soak the agar agar in cold water till soft.
Combine the juice and sugar and bring to the boil, reduce to 700ml skimming gas necessary. By which time the juice should be clear.
Whisk in to the boiling juice he agar agar and boil for 2 – 3minutes.
Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Stir in the gelatine till melted then pour into a suitable container and leave to set somewhere cold.
Cut into cubes and roll in caster sugar just before serving.
Exclusive offer to DGWGO members
Come and give Blackaddie a try and we will give you 25% off our normal Dinner Bed & Breakfast prices anytime between now and the end of May 2015. Have you got something special to celebrate, or a special occasion that needs somewhere special? Then this offer should fit the bill. Just phone and book , Stating ‘DGWGO Offer‘ and print off and bring the token below with you when you come !
See Ian’s brand new web site for more info on this link http://www.blackaddiehotel.co.uk/ or follow on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Blackaddiehotel.co.uk?fref=ts
